There seems to be little question that Ichiro Suzuki will be a first-ballot Hall of Famer when the results are announced on Jan. 21, 2025.

There is, however, one major question surrounding his candidacy: Will Suzuki become just the second unanimous Hall of Famer?

While we won’t know for certain until the Baseball Writers’ Association of America (BBWAA) votes are revealed, we recently asked a panel of 55 MLB.com experts to weigh in -- and the results were mixed.

The question posed to each person was not if they think Suzuki deserves to be a unanimous Hall of Famer, but instead if they think he will be voted as one by the BBWAA.

And the results?

Yes: 25 votes
No: 30 votes

Though the majority of our voters did not believe Suzuki will be listed on every ballot this year, the fact that 25 experts even think it’s a possibility is noteworthy considering Mariano Rivera is the only player to be elected unanimously.

Suzuki certainly has a case to join Rivera. The Mariners legend is one of the best pure hitters in baseball history, earning a spot in the 3,000-hit club despite not joining MLB until he was 27 years old. He’s a .311 lifetime hitter and holds the Major League single-season hits record.

Toss in the 1,278 hits he racked up in Nippon Professional Baseball before coming to the Majors, and his career professional hit total jumps to a remarkable 4,367.

Of course, Suzuki isn’t the first player aside from Rivera to have a strong case for a unanimous election.

Here’s a look at the five closest calls in voting history.

Derek Jeter, 2020 (99.7%; 396 of 397 votes)
Jeter notably finished one vote shy of joining his fellow Yankees icon as a unanimous selection. The legendary shortstop spent his entire 20-year career in the Bronx, where he was a 14-time All-Star, 1996 American League Rookie of the Year, five-time Gold Glove Award winner and five-time Silver Slugger. He also helped lead the Yankees to five World Series titles, and he was named MVP of the 2000 World Series in which the Yankees defeated the crosstown rival Mets. Jeter holds the all-time postseason record with 200 career playoff knocks.

Ken Griffey Jr., 2016 (99.3%; 437 of 440 votes)
Three years before Rivera made history, Griffey came within three votes of being the first unanimous Hall of Famer. The smooth-swinging superstar was a 13-time All-Star, 10-time Gold Glove winner and seven-time Silver Slugger over his illustrious 22-year career. Griffey had seven 40-homer seasons and a pair of 50-homer campaigns, including 56 in his 1997 AL MVP season.

Tom Seaver, 1992 (98.8%; 425 of 430 votes)
Seaver was left off of just five ballots in his first year of eligibility. The right-hander won the 1967 NL Rookie of the Year Award and three Cy Young Awards, while also helping lead the Mets to the '69 World Series title. Seaver won three ERA titles and was a five-time strikeout champ.

Nolan Ryan, 1999 (98.8%, 491 of 497 votes)
Ryan threw seven no-hitters over his 27-year career – a total higher than the number of voters who left him off their ballot. Those seven no-hitters are the most by any player in MLB history, as are his 5,714 strikeouts. Ryan won a pair of ERA titles and was an 11-time strikeout champ. His six 300-strikeout seasons are tied with Randy Johnson for the most in AL/NL history.

Cal Ripken Jr., 2007 (98.5%; 537 of 545 votes)
Ripken earned his "Iron Man" nickname by playing in a Major League record 2,632 consecutive games from 1982-98 -- but it wasn't just his availability that made him a surefire Hall of Famer. He was a two-time MVP, 19-time All-Star, eight-time Silver Slugger winner, two-time Gold Glover and 1983 World Series champion.

Here are the five players rounding out the 10 highest vote percentages:

• Ty Cobb, 1936 (98.2%; 222 of 226 votes)
• George Brett, 1999 (98.2%; 488 of 497 votes)
• Hank Aaron, 1982 (97.8%; 406 of 415 votes)
• Tony Gwynn, 2007 (97.6%; 532 of 545 votes)
• Randy Johnson, 2015 (97.3%; 534 of 549 votes)